Chapter Text
Seonghwa wakes up with his king size bed stretching out to the right of him, most of the sheets untouched. He shuts off his alarm and climbs out of bed, sliding on his sandals and leaving the room. He shuffles down the hallway, the air cold around him as he passes by his maid, Sohyun, who offers him a small bow before going into his room to tidy it. Not that there’s much to do, he rarely makes a mess, but it can never be too clean.
He continues through the almost maze like house, walking down the stairs and into the kitchen. His chef, Changmin, greets him the same way Sohyun had, no words exchanged between the two. He eats his breakfast at the bar, accompanied by the quiet, the only sound aside from the scraping of his plate is Changmin cleaning up the kitchen. Once he’s done, he makes the trek back towards his room to take a shower and get dressed.
Donned in a crisp black and white suit, dark hair slicked back, Seonghwa leaves the house, the biting winter air meeting him when he walks out the door. While he could have his driver take him to work, he’d decided to walk, feeling the occasional need for a little extra fresh air nudging him.
He walks by students on their way to school, others wearing similar suits to his, many chatting on the phone, but he doesn’t pay any of them any mind. He passes a few people sitting on the concrete, blankets on their shoulders, a cup in front of them and a sign in their hands. He holds his head higher as he hurries past them.
Nearing the building his office is in, Seonghwa starts walking across the crosswalk, his phone buzzing in his pocket when he steps into the street. He checks the screen, his steps not faltering, until his phone flies out of his hand with the impact of another person running into him, both of them tumbling to the ground. He barely has time to register what’s happening before a car is barreling through the crosswalk directly where he was standing, showing no signs of stopping or slowing.
He whips his head around to see who’d pushed him out of the way. It’s a man he’s seen on the streets sometimes, never begging, but sleeping outside nonetheless. They’re both panting as they eye each other up. Seonghwa pulls himself to his feet, the other doing the same.
The boy’s not much shorter than Seonghwa, his blue hair coming up to Seonghwa’s ear, but the way his skin hugs his bones tightly makes him appear much smaller. There’s paint splattered over his ragged clothes, and Seonghwa has to catch himself before he takes a step away from him. It takes another moment before it hits Seonghwa that the blue haired boy in front of him just saved his life.
“Uh, thank you.” Seonghwa manages, straightening his jacket and dusting himself off.
He spots his phone on the ground, leaning over and picking it up. He doesn’t bat an eye when he turns it over and sees that the screen is shattered, he’ll just have to buy a new one. When he faces the other boy again, he’s still silently staring at him, his features guarded.
“Don’t mention it.” The boy deadpans, turning on his heel to walk away.
“Wait!” Seonghwa calls on instinct, the other stopping but not turning around, “What’s your name?”
Seonghwa couldn’t honestly explain why he cares about what the boy who lives on the street’s name is, but he did just save his life, afterall.
“Hongjoong.” The blue haired boy states, sharp and quick. Seonghwa nods, but he knows Hongjoong can’t see it.
“My name is Seong-”
Hongjoong spins back around, stepping towards Seonghwa, “Oh I know exactly who you are, Park Seonghwa .” he spits his name out like it’s poison on his tongue.
Seonghwa chooses to ignore his remark and the venom in his voice, “Is there some way I can thank you for saving me?”
“No, I don’t want anything from you.” Hongjoong answers, hostility wound around him.
“Please, at least let me make you dinner tonight, just as a thank you.” Seonghwa tries, the idea seeming harmless yet decent enough.
Hongjoong’s expression shifts to surprise, and Seonghwa can’t say he blames him. Under normal circumstances he would never allow someone like him into his house, but he hates to be in anyone’s debt.
Hongjoong narrows his eyes, running them over him, looking him up and down, “No thanks.”
Seonghwa thinks Hongjoong’s previous surprise is nothing compared to the shock that rushes over him.
“Wait, so you… don’t want a free home cooked meal?”
“Nope.” Hongjoong dismisses, popping the p, before walking away from Seonghwa again.
Seonghwa moves without thinking, rushing to catch up to the smaller boy, “But you- I’ve seen you around here before, you’re, homeless aren’t you?” Seonghwa can feel his disbelief multiply every second he’s around Hongjoong.
Hongjoong just shrugs, still staring straight ahead as he walks, “I couch surf when I can.”
“Well I’m offering for you to spend the evening at my house, and if you know me, then you know where that is. Why would you turn that down?”
“Because I’m not some charity case.” Hongjoong stops to answer, his eyes firm, almost challenging as they stare into Seonghwa’s before he continues walking without waiting for Seonghwa to answer.
“I’m just trying to thank you, why won’t you let me?” Seonghwa doesn’t mean to raise his voice, calling after Hongjoong as he trails after him, but every nonsense word Hongjoong says drives frustration deeper into him.
“I just don’t want anything from you. I know what you’ve done to get your money, and I don’t want any part of it.”
Seonghwa doesn’t know exactly what Hongjoong’s referring to, but he can hazard a couple guesses.
He feels anger etch its way onto his face the same way it embeds in his chest, and he reaches out, grabbing Hongjoong’s arm to stop him from walking further, “You’re being ridiculous.”
“Sorry to disappoint, rich boy. Not my fault no one’s ever told you no before.” Hongjoong doesn’t back down, only getting further into Seonghwa’s space, and Seonghwa refuses to let on how close to home his words hit.
“Look, it seems like you haven’t eaten a real meal in weeks, just let me thank you properly.” Seonghwa’s surprised by his own adamance, but all he knows is that Hongjoong’s stubbornness is rubbing on every one of his nerves.
“Don’t act like you suddenly care about me and if I eat or not.” Hongjoong bites.
Seonghwa can’t blame him for doubting his motivations, but he finds it unimportant. “Will you just stop being stubborn for two seconds and let me make you dinner?” He almost tacks a please on the end, but he has enough pride left to restrain.
Hongjoong rolls his eyes, but doesn’t bark back a snarky response, his shoulders dropping. “Fine, I’ll have dinner with you. But only because I’m starving and my friend skipped town, not because I give a shit about your bruised ego.”
Seonghwa sighs in relief and gives Hongjoong his address, disregarding the younger’s grumbles about already knowing where he lives. They plan for him to come at six in the evening, and they part with the tension between them colder than the air around them.
Seonghwa trudges the rest of the way to work, the familiar path now feeling somehow different after his interaction with Hongjoong. He walks in the towering building, nodding to various coworkers as he makes his way up the elevator and to his office. He settles at his desk, looking over what he needs to get done. As the day goes by, he struggles to delve into his work, his mind fighting against him to stray towards the strange boy with blue hair.
After hours of far less productive work than he’d like, he sits back in his chair, turning to look out the large window overlooking the city. He briefly wonders, in all of the buildings that he looks down on, where Hongjoong is among them. With a frustrated sigh he shoves the thought aside and turns back towards his computer screen.
While he would normally stay at the office late into the night, today Seonghwa leaves with the rest of the building, giving him enough time to have dinner with Hongjoong. As he makes his way back through the bustling streets, he tries to decipher his feelings towards his impending dinner. The main feeling he can identify is the urge to get it over with so he can rid himself of whatever guilt or debt has been weighing on him since this morning.
He’d told Changmin the time they’re planning on having dinner, so Seonghwa’s met with him bustling around the kitchen when he walks in the door. He finds it strange, to have so much of the day left when he gets home. After taking off his jacket he goes into his home office, set on catching up on a portion of the work he’d been too distracted to get to today. That occupies his time until he hears a knock at the front door and he checks the clock to see that it’s already past six.
He rolls his sleeves up to his elbow, running a hand through his hair and walking out of his office. He reaches the front door just as Sohyun, who had let Hongjoong in the house, offers to take his coat, as is customary, before sputtering off when she realizes Hongjoong doesn’t have one. Seonghwa dismisses her with a wave of his hand and she bows, blushing, before scrambling into the kitchen, presumably to help finish setting the table for their meal.
“Thank you for coming.” Seonghwa addresses Hongjoong.
“I said I would.”
Seonghwa can’t help but notice how utterly out of place Hongjoong looks, standing on the spotless floors of Seonghwa’s expansive house, among the sleek furniture, next to Seonghwa, in his slacks and black button up shirt. In contrast, Hongjoong’s wearing jeans with holes ripped through them and a striped long sleeve, different colors of paint splattered over the fabric. His hair is the most colorful thing in the whole house, the bright blue messy on top of his head.
“Should we go?” Seonghwa asks, realizing he was all but staring at the younger.
Hongjoong nods, and Seonghwa leads the way to the dining room. As they walk through the halls Seonghwa glances back periodically, sees Hongjoong looking around him with wide eyes at the high ceilings, vast rooms, and seemingly never ending hallways.
They sit across from each other at the large wooden table, Hongjoong watching as Sohyun serves them their drinks and then goes into the kitchen, walking out with their plates, placing each down in front of them before leaving them alone with a bow. Ignoring his own food for a moment, Seonghwa watches Hongjoong eye the plate in front of him.
“I thought you said you were going to make me dinner?” Hongjoong raises an eyebrow at him.
“Uh, yeah?” Seonghwa gestures to the plate in front of Hongjoong full of steaming food, confusion apparent in his voice.
“No, yeah I know, I just thought that you- actually nevermind, forget it.” Hongjoong waves him off, digging into his food like he’s starving, which Seonghwa remembers he’d mentioned he is.
Seonghwa knows what he means, he had said he’d make him dinner without thinking about it, he just doesn’t see why it matters to Hongjoong. He shrugs it off, starting to eat his own meal as well. While it’s no less silent than when he’s by himself, Seonghwa’s hit with the fact that this is the first time he’s eaten with another person in longer than he can remember.
“So where are you from?” Seonghwa decides he might as well make the most of it while he has someone to talk to.
“Anyang.” Hongjoong doesn’t even look up at him.
“How long have you been here?” Seonghwa tries again.
This sparks a reaction from the other, but his eyes are cold when they find Seonghwa’s. “Look, just cut the superficial bullshit, okay? I know neither of us are interested in small talk.”
Hongjoong continues eating, looking away from Seonghwa, who reluctantly does the same. He sits for another few minutes in silence, until the unease eats away at him more than is tolerable. Why can’t Hongjoong ever just be agreeable?
“Fine. Then how about I ask you a different question. If you know who I am, and you hate me, and you didn’t want money or anything from me, then why did you save me today?”
Seonghwa can see the slight shift in Hongjoong’s rough expression, he hadn’t expected the question.
“Because it was the right thing to do.” Hongjoong answers simply, “Not that you would know anything about that.”
Seonghwa can’t help but wince at the jab, not that it’s anything he hasn’t heard before, but it almost digs a little deeper coming from Hongjoong. He lets another stretch of silence pass before he speaks again.
“Do you work?” He asks, and Hongjoong eyes him incredulously, “Hey, don’t look at me like that. It’s not just small talk, I’m actually curious.”
Hongjoong rolls his eyes, “I’m an artist.”
“Oh, that’s… nice.” Seonghwa grasps for something to say, “Did you always want to be an artist?”
“Ever since I can remember.” Hongjoong answers, and Seonghwa feels triumphant for getting a sincere response out of him.
“Did you go to school for it?” Seonghwa doesn’t want to lose the momentum of civility they’re building up.
“I wanted to, it was all I wanted, really.” Hongjoong’s voice softens as he pushes the remainder of his food around his plate.
“What happened?”
“My parents would never support me, and I couldn’t afford it on my own.” Hongjoong pauses, “They threw me out when I refused to go to school for anything other than art.”
Seonghwa frowns as he watches Hongjoong tell his story. He seems resigned, reflective even, but Seonghwa doesn’t sense any regret from him as he tells him about his past.
“Why’d you refuse?” Seonghwa asks.
“What do you mean?” Hongjoong tilts his head.
“Why didn’t you go to school for something else? You could’ve done something practical and made money.”
“God, you sound just like them.” Hongjoong scoffs, rolling his eyes again, more malice behind the action this time.
“Is that bad though?” Seonghwa challenges, “Maybe they were right.”
“They were assholes!” Hongjoong’s dark eyes pierce through him, “They disowned me just because I wanted to pursue something I’m passionate about, something that makes me happy, and now you’re going to sit there and tell me they were right?”
Hongjoong shoves his plate away from him, shaking his head. “We can’t all have mommy and daddy give us everything on a silver spoon, Seonghwa.” He spits.
“Don’t act like you know me, Hongjoong. You’re not the only one with family problems.” Seonghwa counters, his voice low.
“Oh, poor little rich boy has it so rough! Yeah, right.”
Seonghwa feels himself stiffen, his veins boiling over with rage.
“My mom left before I was old enough to walk, and I haven’t even seen my dad in person since I was eight years old. I was raised by maids. I’ve never even heard him tell me he loves me.”
Seonghwa’s mouth snaps closed when he finishes his rant. Him and Hongjoong can only stare at each other, both of their chests rising and falling heavily. He hadn’t planned on disclosing his personal problems to Hongjoong tonight, but he has a way of working his way under Seonghwa’s skin that takes him by surprise every time, and he can’t hold onto his composure.
“I’d rather have no love than have it and have it taken away.” Hongjoong says, his voice distant.
“I’ve never heard anyone tell me they love me.” Seonghwa adds, intent on proving to Hongjoong he isn’t exaggerating his lonely, emotionless upbringing.
Hongjoong seems to actually pause in surprise at his confession before he continues, “Still, you’re rich, you can have anything you want.”
“Money isn’t everything, Hongjoong!” Seonghwa yells, his fist hitting the table. Hongjoong doesn’t even flinch, just looks at him with the ghost of a smirk on his lips and a knowing look in his eyes.
Seonghwa huffs, reaching his limit of Hongjoong’s high horse act, and focuses solely on what’s left of his food. Hongjoong seems to get the hint and does the same. Neither of them say anything while they pick at their plates, the silence between them muddled by their thoughts.
“I think I should go.” Hongjoong announces. Seonghwa doesn’t have the energy to dissect what those words make him feel.
“Okay.”
He walks Hongjoong to the front door, both of them remaining silent, amplifying the quiet already present in the empty house. The sky is dark when Seonghwa opens the door for Hongjoong.
“Thank you for dinner.” Hongjoong turns to him, his voice the definition of impersonal professionalism.
“You’re welcome.” Seonghwa answers, searching for something he can’t find in Hongjoong’s eyes. Hongjoong looks back at him, waits while Seonghwa tries to put together the words for what he wants to say to him.
Seonghwa takes too long to continue, and the moment is lost, “Goodnight Seonghwa.” Hongjoong says, and he walks away from him, down the large driveway and into the night. Seonghwa wonders where he’s going.
When Hongjoong’s out of sight Seonghwa closes the door, and he’s alone again.